Belt buckle transplants and a really awesome dress

I really like belts and currently own several tons of them. In fact, one of my nifty little belt/scarf closet hangers just broke from the weight. When it comes to this particular item, I'm mostly talking about the waist-cinching style. Those thick elastic ones that don't hold your pants up, but do help to create an hourglass figure and draw attention to your best feature. Well, my fave feature. So, look at this slightly tacky but necessary for my wardrobe belt:

Ooh, it's a large, blue bird...birds again?! Yeah birds. I got that at Savers awhile back for $2. Anyway the white belt may have worked ok: it didn't look terrible. It was a little dingy, though. No prob, I'll just remove the belt buckle and put it on a more practical belt. Here's one:

There they are, side by side. That black belt had an interesting...texture? It also had a dated knot glued to the belt buckle that I could do without. So, I removed both belt buckles from their elastic belts. Then I gave that black one the bird (te he).

That works!Yea, black with blue bird belt. And then...

I have this green belt with an ugly, 80s, snakeskin looking, double circle buckle. Another transplant. I easily separated those round things from the belt. Now, to find a better buckle.
I just happened to have a spare one; the outdated knot piece that I removed from that black belt. Luckily, the fabric knot was held on with glue, which I ripped right off. This left the hook hardware that I needed. Unfortunately, it didn't match so well with the other end which it would hook into. Easy solution: glue something on it. I have many buttons. I would glue a button on.

As you see, it's a brown buckle and not black and I like black. I think that button was just the best flat and fitting one, and rather than being picky about color, I fired up the glue gun. Wait. I got more.

Look at that cool fancy, old-timey buckle. And yes, all of these "before" pics were taken at night, so they look bad. I don't care much for the quality of the "before" shots. I find that buckle quite striking and I love how it attaches together at the center. The belt itself is kinda lame. It's like a regular elastic piece covered in some saggy, scrunched up casing.
I could either amputate the whole piece from the fancy buckle or rip it open, exposing the unseen elastic underneath.

Or I could do that. I just stretched the aqua material. I removed one side of the buckle and pulled the casing part until it was tight around the elastic part. I cut off the excess, sewed the raw edge and then resewed the buckle back on. That was one easy refashion.
Want to see these pieces at work? I'm not really asking, my vain self already got some outfit pics. I will now take the opportunity to show off an incredible thrift store dress find.

Look at that. Do you know what that is? Well, it's a 40s inspired, black and white, polka dot dress from the clothing label called Stop Staring. It fits perfectly! No alterations needed. I just Googled image searched and didn't see any pics of my dress. It's a really cool label featuring beautiful clothing that costs an arm and an ass. ( I wanted to make it an alliteration.) Really; click the link and get a look at them highfalutin' rich folk prices. Or look at me!

Thrift purists may scoff at the standard $6 price for dresses, but as I twirl around in this, I'm reminded that you can sometimes find something well worth 5 bucks and some change (with the Goodwill discount card.)
Here's the green belt:

I turned the floor standing fan on, as it was a warm afternoon. Got a little windblown effect going. The fancy buckle aqua belt didn't match polka dot dress. So I threw on something from my closet.

Oh, this old thing? I just pull this disco dress out, slap on some makeup, and pose in front of a fan with it. Then I hang it back up.
Thanks for looking and not leaving snarky comments!

Late Conclusion

Months later, I am finally posting the end of the story I started during the winter. My "first draft" has been trapped in a notebook since late February because I didn't feel like editing and typing and got busy with other stuff.

Now, the winter is gone. Each season changes and I'm struck by how different things become. Where life was once constant--the people, the places, the events--now seems ever changing. I think back on recent years and each is different from the next. It's as if each is a new era. 

The spring is so damn short. (Whispers) this forsythia bush is symbolic of that because this deciduous plant blooms in spring for a short amount of time. 

I hate when my leaves fall off. (Follow the metaphor...) Whether good or bad, I don't like to lose people or places. I yearn for those times in my past and the people who are no longer part of my world.

Look at this crushed velvet dress.

Continued from here. 

My story concludes...

So as that summer of 2013 came to close, so did the Moody-Falcon era. He used to leave his overnight job early in the morning and drive up to see me each Wednesday. Then one late August morning, I woke up alone with a feeling of dread. A phone call confirmed that my time was up. This story isn't about that.

It was like watching Ned Stark lose his head. My mind was blown and I just couldn't accept it. "Noooo!" I repeated, as if I could make him take it back. But, you can't just reattach a head to its body, and I could not hold onto a goddamn bird of prey as it flew out of my hands.

As I descended back into the abyss of depression (also my dad was about to have heart surgery) Falcon kept in touch. He cried with me and was very sensitive to my pain. I told him I wanted to say goodbye face to face, and he agreed that he would, saying that he wouldn't refuse to face me like John had. In September he came by to see me. I remember crying in my doorway as we hugged our final farewells. He had tears in his eyes as he looked back at me before walking out the door, leaving me to live a life all by myself. I was the loneliest girl in the world. 

WAW held its 14th Anniversary Celebrations in November. I had been gone a year, but old timers are invited back to participate. Falcon was only wrestling part time, but he invited me to appear at WAW 14 as manager of the Firebirds. 

That was us as a team back in 2011/2012

I was scared as hell to be back in that place again, but under Falcon's wing (sorry) I felt like I was safe with a trusted friend. Afterwards, he told me that as I walked through those old curtains to make my way to the ring that my tough/angry looked lit up into a smile when I heard the audience cheer.

In the time that followed, we stayed in touch. He was always so kind to me, a real freakin' gentleman. He actually appreciated my honesty when I made humorous jabs at his "evil ways." Sometimes, he would stop in and visit. He came by one day last summer and we took a walk through the downtown area where I live and had smoothies. It was great.
I should mention that during any visits or texting chats did he ever attempt to lure me into the sack. It seemed to contradict what I had previously said in the beginning about crossing state lines. He was actually taking time to talk to me as a friend. As if he actually cared.

On an unrelated note: a thrifted prom gown I recently listed

The last time we were in contact was on New Year's Day of 2015. I don't really remember much of what was said. What I remember was how he ended our text conversation: "keep in touch." It felt good to have a friend out there.
Less than a month later, he was gone.
This story has what they call a circular ending; it started at the end of the story, went back in time, and has brought us back to where I left off in my intro. (I'm not really sure why I chose to spell that out for my readers.)
On one moment I had a friend out there. I had someone that I didn't talk to or see very often, but was someone that knew me and cared for me. Then a moment later, that person ceased to exist.
Unfriended on Facebook, no responses to my pleas for answers... Why? I wanted to know. Acknowledge me, damnit!
If anyone has read my earlier stories and finds this part familiar to my previous struggles, then you would be correct to make that connection. It had been almost two years since the trauma of having my trusted friend and former boyfriend betray me. Even then I knew that in time, even if it took years and years, I would get over the pain. I had made so much progress and the wounds I thought healed had been ripped open. All those feelings of abandonment and confusion, the feel like I've been left drowning...all coming back to me.
When he left me the first time, he told me that he wouldn't refuse to face me like John had. This time he wouldn't even respond to a text message. I have no answers and have no idea what prompted him to cut off contact. All I know is that he did it again. He broke my heart when he kicked me to the curb, but it's not like he could break up with me again. I guess I was wrong because I managed to get hurt by him twice.
I was left to become a detective; to search for clues, to establish motivation, to talk to witnesses. As I previously mentioned, I had recently heard salacious rumors with him in the center. Any secondhand gossip is not my story to tell, so I will not discuss details of this "scandal" but I had my suspicions that his alleged wrongdoings were related to me getting the axe. (Which would be typical: he does the crime, and others are forced to pay.) Also, the "witnesses" I rounded up were not much help. Because of the "bros before hoes" clause, both his best friend and his roommate would not betray their villainous comrade by providing me with their testimony.
Just like that, we ceased to exist to each other. He has refused any contact with me and I will most likely never see him again. Like an internet executioner, his deletion of my Facebook-friend-status brought down the blade to my neck; the undeniable proof of a friendship being put to death. It's like I finally get that "Somebody That I Used To Know" song by Gotye.

Edited/updated for recent events

And that's about it. He was erased from my world. Where I once had a friend, now stands a proverbial "enemy." If his name comes up amongst mutual friends so does a lingering anger in my heart. He was glaringly absent from that "WAW Save the Dojo/Reunion" show. When his lifelong tag team partner, Pyro asked him to compete in a match where he would wrestle on the other Firebird's behalf against an opponent selected by Rocko (Pyro's opponent for WAW's special event, Legacy), Falcon declined despite the fact that he has had some of his best matches with that performer. That person be...

 Christian Sain.

As seen in that old picture from the year 2008, he is standing triumphantly on the ropes with his business partner beside him; that would be me, Moody Starr.
The first wrestler to work with Moody in a "client/manager" storyline, whom I later had a real life relationship with. He agreed to the match and I was along for the ride...provided that we could do a gimmick involving the best show ever:

 Game of Thrones

I escorted Chris in his King of the North cape to the ring and then sat at the commentary table. When Rocko got on the mic to address Falcon's absence, I took the opportunity to proclaim via commentary that his head was the first to roll and that he would not be flying north into my kingdom ever again. Then I pulled my index finger slowly across my throat, the international symbol for "off with your head."
And then I laughed my ass off. I may never get the answers I seek so that I may heal my wounds. I may never get the chance to confront he who has hurt me two times. But, I was able to act out a "victory" in the most dramatic insane way possible. I was Queen for one more time and for that I was happy.
And sometimes that's all I can ask for. Goodbye, Falcon.

Coming soon: posts...and here's a bird dress

I'm tired of apologizing for blog neglect! Refashionista hasn't posted in a month either, and she's a pro. April vacation is coming (3 more days, not that I've got a countdown going) and I will resume regular posting. For now; guess what this is?

It's an infinity scarf.

I found this thing in one of the bins at the Goodwill Outlet, where stuff costs $1 per pound. So, this cost like, nothing. It has that birds flying print that I'm all about. Bird print!
Now, I've seen many refashions where an old dress or shirt or something becomes an infinity scarf. Well, in Soviet Russia; infinity scarf becomes dress! (To "get" that joke, click here.)
Last time the weather was warm, I Pinned patterns of easy sew dresses with visions of making them that never came to be. When I saw all the great material of this scarf, I wanted to make a kaftan. It's basically a big square thing with arm, leg, and neck holes. With a belt, it could possibly look like this blogger's!

pinned source here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted it to be kinda long, for maximum flowy material usage. Also, as anyone looking at pics can attest; I don't like to show my white and usually bruised legs.

 I laid it out the long way so I could make the top neck hole, the top of the dress. Will these pics help?

I made a big, boxy trace (just like I did with that sweatshirt I made a little while ago) on the scarf. I pinned and sewed along those red lines.

See those yellow lines? That's where I cut. I cut the arm holes, cut off the extra material, and then lowered the neckline, just a bit.

I  had a big paper bag-looking dress! I had a nude colored lining that I rescued from an old dress before donating. So, I layered up and put a belt on it. Here's the problem that I definitely saw coming, but went ahead with the pics anyway. The scarf/dress material was very lightweight and clingy. The lining was also clingy.

Ta da...In this picture, it looks just how I envisioned it...but I can't wear it as is. The whole dress just stuck to the lining and it was not good. I guess my next step is to find some kind of shiny, old fashioned slip and see about making that work.

 I'm also thinking that I'll take in the waist a little, so the belt doesn't have to work so hard. Oh, and I did use the extra material to make a sash, but it didn't get the job done.

There, a blog post posted. Done.

Overdue thrift haul share

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm not sure where I should be sharing my thrift shares. Nevertheless, it's been 1 million years since I last shared my thrift; here are some things for which to look at.

Two little sewing boxes in contrasting colors and in great shape! F yeah, they're for sale on Etsy. I'm not sure why I chose to start this blog post with thread caddies, when I've got big stuff to show and exciting thrift news.

In the last few months, I've finally made it to the Goodwill outlet store a few cities over. That's my exciting thrift news, btw. This is where I found this.

This old suitcase is awesome, but you sure as hell wouldn't know because the damn thing refuses to be photogenic.

It's really retro looking and has a great old timey logo. Listed.
The outlet is a place where you dig through large, messy bins and buy by the pound. So you end up tossing stuff into your cart, like "this doesn't even weigh a pound, it practically costs nothing!" I can't wait to go back.

I found a nice pair of interlocking shelves. By that I mean I found two squares that fit together to create that one shelf in the picture. For some reason, I've had a problem with people being confused when I sell pairs of things. It's one awesome wall shelf!

I grabbed five old, wooden clothes hangers with old clothing company names on them. Here, look closer if so desired.

I brought home those huge wire bins...I don't know what they were once used for and I can't say for sure that they're useful now. Here's one all staged up:

Crates that are essentially metal frames...put your stuff in them! I just marked them down...
Some of my other recent finds, not necessarily salvaged from the outlets include:

This awesome breadbox! It kicks ass so much because I covered the rusty roll top thing with faux bois contact paper. Check it out, there's a story and a "before" pic.

I picked up this lovely lamp which was apparently made by some fancy lighting company. I still can't move it. I have this green number and many other lamps piled up. That's lame, I used to sell lamps all the time.
One more thing, because I'm hungry and want to stop blogging now.

 

This lovely set of Kromex canisters...lovely set of three. What don't you see? Here's a hint:

Where's the coffee?! Nothing grinds my gears like a set with one missing piece. Did the donating party decide they should keep coffee? Did some jerk only buy coffee, leaving this set incomplete?!
Here's my set of three, if anyone is sitting there with a lone coffee canister and needs the rest.



Plenty more stuff to show. My finds are bountiful. Next week, I do an office supply theme.

This used to be my playground

Settle in, folks. I've got a whole ramble to do before eventually getting to the dress.
It starts back in 1998. I'm just messin' with you, I won't go back that far. A couple weeks ago, I received word that WAW, the small, low budget wrestling promotion I once considered my pride and joy would be disbanded. The shows took place in a local gym which we rented out on Saturdays. The gym owner was in financial trouble and would most likely be losing her building, leaving WAW homeless.

"artistic" photo of the ring apron

There are times in recent years where I cursed vengeance upon those in this group. I dreamed about riding into the gym on horseback, and slaying the current regime placing their heads on each ring post to take back my throne. (I have an active imagination and I'm obsessed with Game of Thrones.) But, news of WAW's demise was not good news for me.

another artsy-ass pic which shows me in WAW's corner

In the week that followed, the most beautiful thing happened. My former WAWers, past and current members took to social media to share our love and memories and shit. Using the tags #wawmemories, and #farewelltothedojo or #savethedojo, we shared our highlights and stories from olden days. We changed our Facebook profile pictures to photos of ourselves in costumes or in the ring.
It was announced that there would be a show on the upcoming Saturday, possibly the last. Of course I would attend.
Here's where I talk about my outfit. For most of my career in WAW I played Ms. Moody Starr, company president. My look was usually a cross business lady and dominatrix. I thought I should give a nod to my executive era with something a little like that.
Here's the dress;

I feel like I'm doing this wrong. That dress already looks pretty decent and my bewbs are on full display and that wasn't intentional. I just put this on over my pants to grab the quick "before" picture. It's a pinstriped thing I got for $5 at Savers. It's by Ann Taylor. I'm not sure if that's a fancy name or not.
This isn't a refashion. My end result is basically the same dress with a bunch of accessories. I did some altering.

I took it in from the back. That's what it looked like pinned before I sewed. This made the low cut top fit a little strange. So, I made it lower because I planned on layering.

I just folded down a little of the material on each side in the front like that. It worked. My next step was choosing all the cool crap to go with it. I still have all my costumes in one of those hated plastic bins.
It was decided that I would act as the manager to two of my former clients, one of them being a former boyfriend. We had worked together in 2008-2009 and had a successful "stable" (group of wrestlers banding together like a team, ex.WWE's Degeneration X) called "The Dynasty." Our colors were for the most part black and silver, sometimes gold.

On the left, a sparkly silver gown for a special event; on the right a publicity shot from the Dynasty era. Not shown are my metallic silver leggings that I used to wear under short dresses. Sadly, they had lost a lot of their shine. I wore those, my patent high heel boots, my silver sequin bra, a silver accented belt, and a faux fur boa thing. A bit of an overkill? Too much?

Yes

It looks a little over the top, which is good for wrestling shows, I think.

The necklace is just a black chain with one of those big pins attached. No need to be flashy. Bring on the narcissistic photo shoot!

The leggings used to fit better.

I will probably come back to this, but to wrap it up, the show went well, JOHN showed up and performed, and there might be more life in WAW. 

Where is everyone?

 ...and where am I, this post is all over the place. Proceed.
I'm aware that it's been awhile since my last post, but you know, better late than never. It seems like some of the personal blogs I visit have been abandoned lately, and I find it worrisome. For instance, a living space which was a popular thrift/craft/decorating blog suddenly came to a halt in September with no notice/goodbye post. Another favorite blog, Sir Thrift A Lot has not been active since February 2. What happened? Are these bloggers ok? What made them up and abandon their blogs?!
My reasons for concern are actually a little more selfish. Sir Thrift A Lot used to post at least once a week, and always did a "thrift share" post, where other bloggers could share links showing off our weekly thrift scores. I needed those to get traffic to my blog as well as to my etsy shop.

 click here for clown lamps!

So, let's begin with the excuses. I read on another favorite thrift blog that there's no excuse for neglecting your blog. I'm gonna have to disagree. Life; it's unpredictable. My priority has to be the things that help me pay the bills, so attending my day job and working on that aforementioned etsy shop have to come first. Next, I have to take care of myself; accessing/consuming food, proper sleep, and occasionally seeing other people are important.
Also surprises happen. I did another WAW show, possibly the last. Stories to follow.
 Sadly, working on Craft, Thrift, or Die often takes a backseat. Lame. So, here is a list of what I hope to do on the blog when time allows:
-Finish my Falcon story.
-Write about last week's show, and maybe begin "My WAW Story).
-A tutorial and some narrative on my "minimalist collages."
-A massive thrift share post to show off my many recent scores (and links to their etsy listings. I'm a sales lady.)
I am way behind. Hey, did you see those clown lamps up there? Aren't they awesome and/or terrifying? That pair is one of my favorite recent scores, bought at Goodwill. I'm asking a fortune for them, because they are seriously rare (well, I can't find any proof of them existing anywhere else on the Internet) and because they're freakin' awesome! Items priced according to awesomeness.
While I'm here, how about a quick refashion?

The way I do refashions and the way I list items for sale is like a triage: I remake the easiest and most likely to wear clothing first, leaving other garments in a pile. I list the items expected to sell quickly, or make the most money before other items that regardless of what has been acquired first.
This dress had a lot going for it. Obviously not in that condition, but check out these stats: beautiful blue/teal color, thick material for the cold we had last month, $0.75, and an easy to use fabric for a simple idea that I had. I wanted to make a tunic-like sweatshirt.

It was a big medium with a long bodice as usual. Don't care; I only wanted the lower half. Here's what I did:

Seam ripper? NOPE. That material was thick and made well. It would've taken me years to rip seams. Slice with scissors!

Then I did that. (Ignore the color variations, I do a lot of this at night and end up having to edit the shit out of my pics to make them work.) I laid the skirt part out flat and traced a slouchy top on it. Don't forget to cut out sleeve holes.
See those things on the shoulders? Those are the dress's pockets. I just went ahead with my project, hoping they wouldn't be an issue.

They tore right off, barely needed the seam ripper. Look at all the dust in the depths of those pockets.

The dress's original hem is the bottom. Hopefully you can see the those little black lines I added which indicate where to sew. Around the sides and across the top, leaving a neck hole. I wanted to go with a high neckline that was also wide.
I had to play around with it a little, but this project was pretty much easy. Here it is:

 

It works. The big sleeves don't work as well with this sweatshirt-y material as they do on lightweight stuff like the shirt I traced. 

I love those jeggings. I see that they're not doing my thighs any favors. In conclusion, I will do this style again, but with a lighter material. Still gonna wear those thigh enhancing jeggings, too.